Author: ECKANKAR

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So much warring in the world and personal challenges going on. I can barely keep up with my life. How can I find a little more peace and balance in my life?

Lin Yutang was a very popular philosopher in America during the 1930s and 1940s. He said, in effect, “Let one thing go.” You’ll find this very helpful. Because karma has speeded up in these times. It’s part of the purification of earth. This is all on a spiritual track. Even though we look around and see the many wars that have flared up recently, they’ve always been there. At any given time, there are always forty or more wars going on between nations or tribes.

We have all these things pulling on us today.

If at some point you just say, “I’m going to let one thing go,” that helps.

The second saying I’d like to pass on is “Don’t store stress.” This came from the oldest woman in the world. She lives in Japan. Someone asked her, “How do you live to such a nice age, as you have?” The woman answered, “Don’t store stress.”

I like the phrase “don’t store stress.” It gives the image of something very much like a battery. A battery that is fully charged, but then has a charger hooked up to it, will overcharge and ruin itself.

You don’t want that to happen to you.

So let one thing go, and don’t store stress. Let it go.

—Sri Harold Klemp

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I have always been afraid of making mistakes. I can’t seem to let go of this attitude. Can you help?

Learning means making errors. Those who are learning spiritually make errors just the way anyone does when he is growing.

I don’t mind an error as long as the individual benefits from it, picks up the pieces, and goes on—a wiser individual.

—Sri Harold Klemp

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What’s the first thing I should do when a problem presents itself? I always feel worried and stressed out.

We ask for divine help when we need it, but not when the situation is within our own power to resolve. Too often we have the feeling that no matter what comes up, there must be an easy way out. Instead of using our God-given creative abilities to figure out a way to overcome the problem, we want someone else to take care of it. We are actually cheating ourselves as spiritual beings.

A person who is operating at his absolute best will ask, What resources has Divine Spirit put at my disposal so that I can solve the problem myself? By doing this, he knows that he is exercising his spiritual muscles.

—Sri Harold Klemp

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How do I overcome fear? I seem very bold but have many fears. I experience panic attacks often. Mᴀʜᴀɴᴛᴀ, please help me.

Panic attacks were once thought to be a psychological problem. Recent studies, however, find many cases have a physical basis. I’m not allowed to give specific health advice, but do check with a health practitioner to ensure your vitamin and mineral levels are normal. Go from there.

The symptoms certainly do cause alarm.

Our bodies have down-to-earth needs, and much of our spiritual insight must be directed at finding ways to treat ourselves better. And of course, singing HU goes along with your search for real answers to your panic attacks.

Through it all, I am always with you.

—Sri Harold Klemp

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Last year two of my old friends from high school committed suicide. This came as a shock to me, and I’m sure to a lot of other people, because these individuals were outgoing and seemingly well adjusted.

What is suicide all about, Sri Harold? Why do people do it? I am reaching to make sense of it and keep a balance for myself?

Thank you for your guidance on this sensitive issue.

It is very disturbing when someone we know decides to end it all. What are some likely reasons for suicide?

A big factor is an overexposure to electronics. Today’s technology has far outpaced human evolution, so our many gadgets blast our nervous system, weakening it.

Add to that a deficient diet. Soda and energy drinks are often loaded with caffeine, which stresses the nerves even more. Fast food does not supply us with the necessary nutrition, which also robs us of the right fuel for our bodies and minds.

All the above devolve into insufficient sleep.

Of major concern is how the above items may relegate one’s spiritual exercises or quiet time to the very bottom of one’s daily schedule. We all need time alone; our intricate systems must have a chance to recharge and freshen up.

Not mentioned yet is severe pain as a reason for suicide. People are always meeting their own past deeds but are hardly set for the terrible pain that illness of body or mind can inflict.

Still, who are we to judge? Love only.

—Sri Harold Klemp

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I am often concerned by the chaos and upheaval in the world and the apparent lack of competency in its political leaders. How can I better deal with this concern?

The point of everything is that the higher one goes spiritually, the greater becomes his vision. It then calls for an even greater state of detachment.

No matter how corrupt government becomes in any part of the world, we must do our best to rise above the moral squalor. The only way to do that is to fill yourself with love and let that love see the light of day in some way, every day.

Small kindnesses will answer, and they go a long way toward making this corrupt social creation we live in somewhat more tolerable.

—Sri Harold Klemp